Combination blade dispenser and used blade receiver



July 20, 1954 ARRlGHl 2,684,151

COMBINATION BLADE DISPENSER AND USED BLADE RECEIVER Filed Aug. 21, 1951 INVENTOR. A/vgao A/QQ/QH/ BY mauv&

ATTORNEY Patented July 20, 1954 COMBINATION BLADE DISPENSER AND USED BLADE RECEIVER Angelo Arrighi, Union City, N. J assignor to American Safety Razor Corporation, Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of Virginia Application August 21, 1951, Serial No. 242,897

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates generally to a container into which used blades may be disposed of and more particularly to the integration therewith of a containing space from which new blades may be dispensed for use in a razor.

The general object of the invention is the provision of an improved arrangement for receiving and storing used razor blades and more particularly single edge razor blades of the type wherein the unsharpened edge is thickened with a reinforcing back.

A more particular object is an improved arrangement whereby used blades can be entered into one part of a razor blade container for storage and disposal and new blades dispensed from another part of said container.

For the attainment of these objects and such other objects as may herein appear or be pointed out, I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention in the drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the razor blade container, partly broken away, showing a new blade partially dispensed therefrom and a used blade partially inserted therein;

Fig. 2 is a view of the front end of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view of the rear end of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is an exploded view showing the component parts of the container.

The container is herein disclosed as particularly devised to dispense single edge blades l5 of the standard type whose unsharpened rear edge is thickened by reinforcement H. The container is comprised of side walls I2, front end wall l3, rear end wall l4, top wall II and bottom wall 3|. The end walls l3 and M are provided with inwardly extending longitudinally aligned ribs 26 and 2! engageable with notches 29 in the side edge of the blades to hold them in vertically stacked relation. The rib 2! has its upper portion 28 of uniform thickness and its lower portion 21 tapered downwardly toward the end wall M for a purpose to be hereinafter referred to. In the drawings, the upper portion 28 has its inner edge 28' parallel to the end wall I4 for substantially one-half of its length and has substantially the other half of its length tapered, as shown at 2?, and said tapered portion 21' preferably ends at the top of the used blade entrance mouth (to be hereinafter described). Extensions 21 and H extending laterally from each side of rib 2! and tapering laterally into the end wall M are also provided for a purpose to be hereinafter referred to. It will be observed that the notches 29 are located adjacent and slightly forwardly of the reinforcement H.

An exit mouth I8 for this type blade, is provided in the upper portion of forward end wall i3 through which the topmost blade may be ejected. The mouth is enlarged at one end 18 to receive the reinforced back I! of the blade and at the other end it for blade edge protection.

The stack is held elevated against the under surface of top wall H by spring It to align the topmost blade with mouth [8.

In order to give access to the interior of the container for filling it with blades, rear end wall I4 is shown in the illustrated embodiment as formed independently of the container body, as may be clearly seen in Fig. 5 wherein rear end wall 14 is shown as provided with tongues 23 projecting outwardly therefrom and received in recesses 24 provided in the container side walls. Proper location of the end wall for the complete assembly of the container is assured by the provision of a top ledge 25 which is adapted to abut against the end of top wall I 5.

Top wall H of the container body is provided with open ended guide slot I!) for the manually reciprocable ejector 29 whose finger 2| is normally positioned to the rear of the reinforcement I! of the topmost blade.

Rib 40 depending from the undersurface of top H, extends longitudinally thereof and is located to one side of slot l9 to define with the adjacent side wall 12, a channel in which reinforcement I l of the topmost blade is received and by which it is guided through mouth IS.

The container incorporates an arrangement whereby used blades may be received and stored therewithin and whose nature will now be described by reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 5. It will be observed that the end wall [4 has its lower edge portion cut away to bevel 50 to provide the slot portion 33 at the right in Fig. 5,

whose height is no less than the thickness of reinforce I? and the slot portion 33 which is cut away to bevel 5i and of a lesser height than portion 33; that the length of the cut away portion 33 is shown in Fig. 1 as approximating but preferably slightly in excess of the depth of the thickened portion ii of the razor blade; that the length of portion 33 is shown as approximating but preferably slightly in excess of the depth of the unthickened razor blade portion which is to the front of reinforce I1; that the bottom 3! of the casing in Fig. 5 is cut away as shown at 35 for a length at least equal to the depth of the reinforce ll; that rib 21 (Fig. 5) extending forwardly from the rear wall [4 is located slightly to one side of cut away portion 33 and registers with rib 36 (Fig. 2) inside the 3 bottom of the container body, when assembly is completed.

As a result of the details of construction set forth in the paragraph preceding, the assembly of the rear wall Id of Fig. with the casing of Fig. 2 will provide a closed chamber which presents at the top of thecasing, discharge mouth l8 for new blades and at the bottom of the casing, an entry mouth for the used blades. In the illustrated embodiment, the discharge mouth is shown at the upper end or the front wall and'the entry mouth as at the lower end of the rear wall, so that the mouths are located at diag onally opposite top and bottom corners of the casing.

This used blade entry mouth is widened at cutouts 33 and 35 to receive the thickened rear blade reinforce and narrowed at the rear wall cutout 33 to receive the relatively thinner blade portion to the front thereof. The used blade is thus precluded from being entered except as shown in Fig. 1.

The aforementioned rib 36 has its end 3S beveled as shown in Fig. '5, so that a used blade entered into said mouth will engage said bevel and be elevated thereby to the level of the top of rib 36 for reasons to be pointed out.

The spring liishownin Fig. 5 has been specially devised to function with both the new blades stacked thereabove and the used blades entered therebeneath through the mouth adjacent the bottom of the casing, as will be more fully set forth.

Spring i5 is shown in Fig. 5 as'formed from an elongated strip of spring 'metal'bent upwardly and backwardly intermediate its ends to define a bottom portion l6 and a top portion lS which extends angularly upwardly and backward from the bend. It will be observed that: the undersurface of this bend m is concavely curved; the angle of bend is shown as acute; the inner end of the bottom portion immediately adjacent the bend I6 is provided with an upwardly directed depression defined by angularly related walls I6 The spring is made from sheet material and is of a width which approximates and preferably slightly exceeds that of the thickened portion l1 so that the spring can be received in the casing in underlying relation to the thickened portions of the new blades stacked thereon.

The container is assembled and loaded by inserting the spring l6 endwise with the bend 8 to the rear, into the open end of easing of Fig. 5, and in between the rib 38 and the adjacent end wall [2 with the bottom portion l6 seated on the bottom of the casing and also inserting" the ejector 2B into slot [9 of the top wall of the casing; new blades are entered stacked "above the spring by depressing its finger B8 whose tension applies an upward pressure to the stack to engage its topmost blade against the undersurface of the top wall. The blades are'heldregistered by engagement of rib 26 on the casing front wall, in the notches 29 on'the adjacente'nds of the blades. The end wall Hi (Fig.6) is then entered into' and closes the open end of the casing and enters its rib 2"! into the'notches at the other end of the stack. The adjacent'ends of the bottom and rear walls define 'the'entra'nce mouth for used blades.

Upon reference to Fig. 1 it will be observed that the first used blade 34 is shown as partially entered into the container with its reinforce i! underlying spring it which in turn underlies the reinforces ll of the new blade stack; In reachguided and controlled by downward pressure of the spring [6.

Full entry of the used blade 34 and engagement of its advancing notch 29 with rib 2B is assu'red'by cutaway portion 35 (Fig. 5) into which the pushing finger of the operator may enter. The notch 2% will normally engage rib 27. However, if the blade-has shifted in its insertion so that the notch 29 is not directly beneath the rib 27 so as to be engaged thereby, the tapered portion 21' will still permit the blade to be elevated and will prevent the blade from otherwise being jammed in the container by abutting the lowermost portion of rib 21 if the rib 27 were not tapered. The tapered'extensions 21 and 21 will facilitate the centering of the used blade l5 as it is being elevated by successive insertions of used blades.

Following used'bla'des are enterable in the same way, however without engaging spring [6 which is now interposedbetween the new and the used blades. As a result, the pressure applied by sprin [6 will be maintained uniform because for every new blade that isdispensed at the top, an old blade will be entered at the bottom. Spring l6 will however be gradually elevated until it engages against the under surface of the casing top wall when the new blades are completely exhausted. The rib 3t and its bevel 38 are important in that they elevate the used blades already entered below the spring, to a level above the entry mouth to thus permit the entry of a succeeding used blade therebelow. In this manner, used blades can be entered successively through the entrance mouth therefor without interference by the previously entered and lowermost used blade below the spring.

It will be observed upon reference to Fig. 1 that the weight of the stack of new blades is applied directly to the free end of the upwardly inclined finger portion E6 of spring it and that this finger portion will be angled downwardly thereby into closer adjacency to the base portion [6 to tension the spring. This angling of the finger is facilitated by the curved portion Hi and the angularly related walls I6 whichdefine the upwardly directeddepression in front there- This resulting spring tension-is applied upwardly to the new blades and also downwardly to the used blades therebeneath.

I claim:

A "combination dispenser and used blade receiver'for blades having end notches, saidcontainer having side, end, bottom, and top walls,

a used blade entrance mouth in an end wall adjacent said bottom 'wall'and a new blade exit mouth in'an endwall adjacent said top wall, a

locating rib extending inwardly fromeach of said end'walls to'enter the notches in said blades for location, the rib on the end'wall which has said used'blade entrance mouth having a portion of uniform depth for substantially one-half of its length and having a portiontapered inwardly toward said'end wall, said uniform depth portion being the upper portion of said rib' and said tapered portion being the lower portion of said rib, and said tapered portion terminating above "said used biade entrance mouth, spring means for elevating new blades to the levelof said exit mouth and an access opening in the top wall for ejecting a topmost blade through said exit mouth.

References Cited in the file of this patent 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number 6 Name Date Cook Nov. 14, 1933 Brown July 6, 1937 Illmer Feb. 28, 1939 Steen Nov. 19, 1940 Testi Oct. 20, 1942 Auerbach Apr. 26, 1949 Colton et a1 Mar. 28, 1950 Simon et a1 Nov. 14, 1950 Mead Mar. 18, 1952 Roberts July 29, 1952 Santo June 9, 1953 

